What will LeBron James be remembered for: athletics or activism? | The Tylt

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What will LeBron James be remembered for: athletics or activism?

#LeBronIsAnAthlete

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#LeBronIsAnAthlete

LeBron James might have helped millions of people, but none of that happens without basketball. Basketball is what has given James the platform to affect change and do everything he's been able to do from a philanthropic perspective. He may have been able to be a great humanitarian, but becoming one of the greatest basketball players and being rewarded for his hard work on the court is at the root of everything. His skills literally pay the bills.

Here is Leigh Steinberg of Forbes with more on why James is the greatest player ever:

While Jordan might be considered a better scorer with a more accomplished career in terms of NBA Championships, LeBron is the best all-around player, and their individual statistics only reinforce this notion. Michael has the advantage in NBA Championships, league MVPs, points per game and free-throw percentage. LeBron on the other hand beats Michael in All-NBA First-Team selections and per-game statistics for rebounds, assists, blocks and overall field goal percentage. Not to mention LeBron James is the only player in NBA history with 30,000 points, 8,000 assists and 8,000 rebounds.

Tylt sports editor Daniel Tran talks with award-winning filmmakers Marc and Dan Levin about "I Promise," a docuseries following the first year of LeBron James' public school for at-risk kids. Check it out!

Basketball might be the root of his successes, but James has transcended the sport to be known as a model human being as much as an athlete. The difference is, his impact as a human is far outweighing what he's doing as an athlete.

While he was criticized for "The Decision," he still generated $2.5 million for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He opened the I Promise School that provides educational services to underprivileged children in Akron. He signed a lifetime shoe deal with Nike that will likely generate over $1 billion dollars that he can use for further philanthropic ventures.

James continues to not only improve himself, but it also taking care of his fellow man. He's a better human than athlete, and that's saying a lot.

When it comes to public education, it is rare to find a politician, let alone an athlete, willing to change anything. LeBron James took on the challenge and appears to be flourishing.

He took kids in the bottom 25th percentile and in danger of dropping out of school—some of the toughest cases in the Akron. Not a lot of people give these kids the chance to get back up to speed, but James and his team were committed to the cause and 90 percent of the students met or exceeded their growth goals. Not only that, but they also helped the entire family of these students with a food pantry to keep everyone fed.

Nicole Hassan, an Akron Public School Liaison at the I Promise School, is aware of LeBron James' greatness on the court, but she is more inspired by the man he is off of it:

He's always been a huge piece of this community and giving back so much more than he has to. It's all really, really inspiring the way that he grew up and still came through and gave back to all of the people that gave to him when he was young

What James has done on the basketball court is great, but nothing will come close to what he is doing for the youth of his community. If this revolutionary approach to education catches on, he may change people's lives across the country and across the world. That's more than dribbling a basketball will ever do.